It is sometimes hard to imagine the network with the name FOX – the name that implies Bill O’Reilly, “fair and balanced” reporting, Jack Bauer saving us all, and American Idol has such a good Sunday night lineup. The sheer genius of The Simpsons is followed by the hilariously satirical Family Guy and the wonderfully witty American Dad.
Unfortunately I was out fishing too late to see all but the last half of The Simpsons, so I will have to catch the episode completely on reruns. Then Family Guy came on, and damn, it was funny. It seems the Dark Angel of Death himself – voiced by Adam Carolla – sends Peter back to 1984 as a one-time wish.
Peter is hanging out with the guys at the Drunken Clam when he begins to regret his life, feeling that he has been cheated out of his wild days. He manages to talk the Angel of Death (voiced by Adam Carolla) to let him go back to when he was 18, so Peter could have one “wild night.” Naturally, Peter screws everything up.
There’s a great line from Brian (the dog) as the young (and hot) Lois comes into the scene. “18 year-old Lois…son-of-a-bitch!” When Peter blows off what turns out was a critical date with Lois, Brian says to the young Lois “can I wham my oingo boingo into your velvet underground?” Great stuff! Then Peter ends up hooking up with Molly Ringwald, who explains why she is with Peter by saying “I like to hook up with random bar guys.” The kicker is when Death comes in to tell Peter is time to go and says to Molly Ringwald “Good to meet you Molly, I’ll be back later for your career.
When Peter and Brian get back to the present, everything has changed. Peter is now married to Molly Ringwald and Lois is married to Quagmire. Judd Nelson shows up and says “I crash here once or twice a week.” Then it really starts to get good.
It seems that by Peter not marrying Lois, a great many things became different. Brian explains it all to Peter, who doesn’t really get it. They start to learn what else changed. They freak out because “Chevy” is hosting the Tonight Show. Then while having dinner with the Quagmires, they discover that Al Gore is President and that he had just killed Osama Bin Ladin. At the bar, Peter is trying to figure out how to fix everything. Brian tells him that maybe we could “just call it a wash” because Al Gore is president and we have flying cars powered by vegetable oil, a “strong, well-funded educational system” zero tolerance gun control and universal health care. With everyone living longer and crime down, it seems Death is harder to find.
With a stroke of luck, Death shows up and Peter wants him to send them back so they can set things right. When Death says he had a busy day because “Dick Cheney, the Chairman of Halliburton, shot Supreme Court Justice Scalia in a hunting accident, and the bullet went right through him and killed Karl Rove and Tucker Carlson.” Brian says “Oh my God, Peter! You can’t marry Lois!”
Of course, Death does send Peter back and after several attempts he is able to set things right. But not without alot more laughs! In a Back to the Future take, Peter must punch Quagmire, and Brian must sing a throw away 80s song.
After the episode last week that featured Lois running for Mayor on a “9/11” platform that also had Kieth Olbermann as a guest voice, it was hard to imagine that this week could be even better. If you don’t regularly see the show, you don’t know what you are missing. And if you missed the season finale, catch it on reruns!
